Company To Celebrate At EAA Airventure 2012

Hawker Beechcraft is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, and plans a Wednesday celebration at their display at AirVenture.

Headquartered in Wichita, KS, and with maintenance and manufacturing locations worldwide, the company traces its roots to the pioneers of aviation. “As we recognize this special anniversary and celebrate our proud past, we look forward to more milestones to come as we carry on Hawker Beechcraft’s legacy of innovation in the aviation industry,” said Steve Miller (pictured), CEO, Hawker Beechcraft, Inc.

Hawker Beechcraft’s 80th anniversary is being celebrated in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Hawker 125 series – represented today as the Hawker 900XP. The Hawker 125 series is the world’s best-selling midsize business jet series.

“Hawker Beechcraft changed the course of general aviation,” added Bill Boisture, chairman, HBC. “Its proud history has included the delivery of more than 54,000 aircraft to customers around the world, and its heritage of leading edge technology and performance will continue to be an integral part of its future.”
Hawker Beechcraft today provides a wide range of products featuring evolutionary engineering and state-of-the-art technology that can be traced back to its visionary founders.

In 1932, Walter H. Beech left an executive position with Curtiss-Wright Corporation to start designing and manufacturing airplanes in Wichita, Kan., with his wife and business partner, Olive Ann Beech. While many warned that there was no market for a cabin biplane with a luxurious interior in the midst of the Great Depression, the two visionaries forged ahead with their plans to build the “finest aircraft in the world” and changed the course of general aviation.

Their philosophy was one of quality, advanced technology, customer satisfaction and business integrity: a philosophy the company says it continues to hold today as it has throughout the years. While Beechcraft’s company history spans 80 years, its innovative history can be traced as far back as 1920, when test pilot and designer Harry Hawker and three others bought the assets of the Sopwith Aviation Company and formed H.G. Hawker Engineering. This company would go on to create some of the most technologically advanced and industry-leading products in aviation and later became a part of the Hawker Beechcraft product line in the mid-1990s.

HBC will celebrate the milestone anniversary at the EAA Airventure 2012 by inviting attendees to its display for cake and giveaways in the afternoon on Wednesday, July 25.

FMI: www.hawkerbeechcraft.com